Sacrificial Animals

Tomorrow moslems in Indonesia as are those in other parts of the world are going to celebrate Eid ul Adha - a festival to commemorate the willingness of the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismael as an act of obedience to God. On this day muslims who can afford it are expected to sacrifice their best domestic animals (usually sheep, but also camels, cows and goats) as a symbol of Ibrahim's sacrifice. The meat of the sacrificed animals are to be distributed to the poor and needy.

Unlike in the Middle East where Eid ul Adha is the larger and more festive holiday than that of Eid ul Fitr (the other major moslem holiday), in southeast Asia Eid ul Adha is not as festively celebrated as Eid ul Fitr. Therefore, Eid ul Adha generally feels like the smaller holiday for us.

Pictured above are the seasonal street vendors selling sacrificial sheep and goats. They usually come from the villages and begin selling the animals a week before the D day, and make use any empty lot of land they can find and even the road side to keep the animals.